IPMN Grants for 2023
The Israel Palestine Mission Network (IPMN) makes biennial grants to organizations/agencies that address human needs or economic development in Palestine, or provide education towards an understanding of Middle East history and present conflicts and challenges. This grant period, we were able to give grants to projects based in Palestine and Israel, as well as projects based in the U.S. Our grants totaled $41,000 for this award period for a total of 9 grantees. This year’s grant cycle brings the grand total of IPMN grants from 2007 to the present to $319,650.
Thank you to our membership who donate for making this work possible!
Most sincerely and enthusiastically,
IPMN Grants Committee
Ahli Arab Hospital (AAH)
based in Gaza
This project was meant to support the AAH’s Children’s Trauma Clinic which serves 450 children/caregivers annually. The work of the Children’s Trauma Clinic is based on three (3) objectives – a five-day program to evaluate children for PTSD, putting children identified as needing further support into guided sessions using a therapeutic approach and a program for caregivers including education about trauma, advocacy training and psychosocial support activities. There is no Gazan family that has not been affected by the current and previous wars either physically, emotionally or economically with the children being affected the most.
Update: The paragraph above is the essence of the original application from AFEDJ. With the bombing of the hospital since then, we have spoken with the AFEDJ director stressing that we want to continue this grant and to see that it goes towards “child trauma in Gaza” as overseen by AFEDJ. Furthermore, we allocated AAH an additional $7,000 for emergency Gaza relief.
Grant approved - $5,000
Additional emergency relief grant - $7,000
Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society (ACTS)-
based in Bethlehem
Alrowwad is a non-profit, non-governmental organization distinguished by its philosophy of “Beautiful Resistance.” Through the “Images for Life” program, ACTS strives to empower children and youth in the Aida camp to creatively express themselves and share their personal stories, life and perspective through photography. “Images for Life” will offer three (3) classes that will target fifty (50) children who are selected due to the particularly difficult challenges they face as they deal with ongoing trauma and exhibit learning difficulties. The grant also provides a new camera which will be used beyond the life of the funded sessions. The project will build on the ripple effect in play among participating youth in each of Alrowwad’s program areas over the past 25 years. Alrowwad has witnessed many of its youth participants later become volunteers in various community projects, develop their skills to become program trainers themselves, and a few have even gone on to serve as Alrowwad board members.
Grant approved - $4,000
Photo source: Alrowwad’s website
Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) based in Palestine/Israel
The “And Still We Rise” (ASWR) program of CMEP is designed to empower Middle Eastern women to become agents of change in their communities, particularly in promoting peace in Israel/Palestine. The ASWR Summit is a crucial component of this program, bringing together 25 Palestinian women and 20 American women from the USA to provide interreligious and intercultural capacity strengthening and empowering opportunities for women leaders from Palestine and will connect them with their counterparts from the US to advocate for the issues of Palestinian communities, build relationships, exchange leadership experiences and develop future cross-cultural initiates that both Palestinian and American women participants will lead on implementing in their home towns. An educational series prior to the ASWR Summit will provide Palestinian women with the tools and knowledge they need to be effective leaders in their communities and prepare them for their participation in the ASWR summit.
Grant approved - $4,000
Global Kairos for Justice (GKJ)
based in Palestine
Global Kairos has seen the need for a centralized communications program. A part time Palestinian Communications Coordinator will be recruited and hired. This person will work on a monthly newsletter providing news and information about what is happening in the GKJ network and in the global church movement. A portion of the grant will be used to fully transform Palestineportal.org and the companion “Celebrating our Global Community” newsletter into an online resource and networking platform for the Global Kairos network.
Grant approved - $5,000
Photo source: GKJ’s Facebook page
In His Steps (IHS): Pathways of Peace based in Palestine
The IHS Patient Navigation Program’s goal is to improve the 5-year survival rate of Palestinian women with breast cancer. Navigation is a process of phase by phase starting with a trusted, local woman, the patient navigator. This grant will continue patient navigation in the Hebron district using learnings from a previous grant to harmonize with local culture, provide mammogram and transportation funds to women in need and develop a non-clinical toolkit for lay navigators. Additionally, a preliminary assessment will begin in the Aida Refugee Camp to begin the navigation program there. Finally, there will be great emphasis to infuse hope into interactions with local participants.
Grant approved - $4,000
Kayan Feminist Organization based in Palestine/Israel
This grant will be used to help move forward the project called “Enhancing Palestinian Women’s and Youth’s Agency in the Digital Age.” The project comes from the belief that women’s and youth’s human rights are violated beyond the analog space and are becoming under increased threat in the digital space. During COVID-19, this was witnessed at alarming levels of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against women and girls in the digital space in Israel. On an individual level, it aims to prevent dire psychological and societal consequences for each victim that seeks support via Kayan’s hotline. On the community level, the aim is to empower Palestinian women and youth by providing them with the necessary knowledge on identifying and dealing with digital violence through a series of trainings so that they can be better protected. On the societal level, the aim is to inspire long-lasting change.
Grant approved - $4,000
Wi’am The Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center based in Bethlehem
This grant will help support a “Students Resolve Peer Conflicts” program for 70 students (grades 9 and 10) and 5 teachers from two schools in the Bethlehem area. Peer mediation empowers students to prevent, resolve, and transform violent and non-violent conflicts by developing their values, attitude, skills and knowledge to help envision alternative options for actions towards building a conflict-sensitive, gender-sensitive, and culture sensitive learning environment in schools; the main goal is to reduce violence in schools and increase the capacities of students and teachers to deal with conflicts in a non-violent way.
Grant approved - $4,000
Photo source: Wi’am’s website
I Witness Silwan أَنَا شَاهِدٌ عَلَى سِلْوَان based in Jerusalem and the United States
I Witness Silwan is a project of US-based Art Forces and East Jerusalem-based Madaa-Silwan Creative Center (MCC) taking place in Silwan, East Jerusalem. This grant will be used to develop four (4) new murals and two (2) new multimedia walking tours with local Palestinian youth and residents in partnership with MCC and international artists. With the inclusion of the Silwan community involving international solidarity, I Witness Silwan contributes to the local and global resistance movements working to end Israeli colonization and dispossession. This grant will build on an I Witness Silwan project that has been underway since 2019 and will build on the successes thus far. To date, dozens of murals have been developed that are an intervention in the built environment. These murals have been well received by the community, those involved in their development, local residents and the many tourists who are curious to know more about their development, meaning and background. Art Force has completed several videos of tours of Silwan which activist organizations use in the work. (https://vimeo.com/796316134 and https://vimeo.com/811486646)
Grant approved - $4,000
Photo source: I Witness Silwan’s website
Institute for the Study of Christian Zionism
This grant will go to support the establishment of a comprehensive digital library (and related services including podcasts, online seminars, lectures and study courses) of critical resources on Christian Zionism. In close coordination with Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Center/Jerusalem and Friends of Sabeel – North America, it is the plan to implement a phase of web design, software/web domain, technical consultants and hire a part time director.
Grant approved - $1,000